Deepcool Killer Whale Premium All Copper CPU Cooler

Today we are looking at the Killer Whale Premium CPU cooler from Deepcool. With it being named after a whale you would imagine the cooler would be big and heavy. The Killer Whale Premium is not that large, but it is quite heavy: 1.225kg or 2.7lbs heavy. This is mainly due to the cooler being completely made of copper.

The Killer Whale Premium is a C-shaped top-down style cooler. The fan for the Killer Whale Premium is slightly different than a standard 120mm fan. A standard 120mm fan is 25mm thick; the fan for the Killer Whale Premium is 48mm thick. The extra thickness allows for more static pressure at the same RPM as the thinner fan. The fan for the Killer Whale Premium operates with an RPM range of 800 to 1800 RPM, 19.1 to 31.8dBA, and pushes up to 78.31CFM.

Features of the Killer Whale Premium

Equipped with multiple clips to support Intel LGA1366/1155/1156/775 and AMD AM3/AM2/AM2+/940/939/754.

6 sintered powder heatpipes conduct heat from the processor quickly to protect it from overheating.

Cool the CPU and the surrounding components like Mainboard, memory card, chipset, etc.

150W solution, a perfect choice for overclockers.

Specifications of the Killer Whale Premium

Overall Dimension: 154.5X143X143.5mm

Fan Dimension: 120X120X48mm

Net Weight: 1225g

Bearing Type: Hydro Bearing

Rated Voltage: 12VDC

Operating Voltage: 10.8-13.2VDC

Starting Voltage: 7VDC

Rated Current: 0.22+/-10%A(MAX)

Power Input: 2.64W

Fan Speed: 800+/-150-1800+/-10%RPM

Max. Air Flow: 78.31CFM

Noise: 19.1-31.8dB(A)

Unboxing the Killer Whale Premium

The Killer Whale Premium comes packed in a nice looking box, with the cooler front and center.

On the back of the box are the specifications in 13 languages. There is also a nice image of the cooler that wraps around the corner of the box.

On the opposite side the box is another image of the cooler.

The cooler is packed in a plastic clamshell along with the mounting hardware.

The Killer Whale Premium comes with all hardware to mount up to all Intel LGA sockets, as well as AMD AM3/AM2/AM2+/940/939/754.

External Impressions of the Killer Whale Premium

The Killer Whale Premium is an all copper C-shape top-down cooler. On top is a 120mm x 48mm fan that operates with an RPM range of 800 to 1800 RPM, 19.1 to 31.8dBA, and push up to 78.31CFM.

Looking from the side we can see the Killer Whale Premium has 55 fins on six 6mm heatpipes.

The fan attaches to the cooling fins with clips to grooves in the fins.

The fan is easily removed, and has a nice clear smoke finish to it. The top edges of the X brace are lit up by a blue LED when the system is powered up. The power cable for the fan is also nicely sleeved.

What I like about the fan setup is that it has a user replaceable 120mm fan. The stock fan attaches to the mount with rubber mounts. This is a standard 120mm mounting pattern, so if the end user wants a lower profile fan or swap for a quieter fan they can.

Looking from the end we can see the fin profile. With the fin shape there should be no issues with RAM clearance on Intel platforms; AMD may have issues with tall RAM depending on the RAM slots' relationship to the socket.

On the top of the base is a small channel with tabs. This is where the top strap for the mounting system will sit; more on this later.

The base of the Killer Whale Premium has a very nice finish and is flat.

One of the coolers that I will be comparing to today is the Noctua NH-C14. Even with the NH-C14 being larger and having two 140mm fans it weighs 225g less than the Killer Whale Premium. It will be interesting to see how each of these coolers compare to one another.

Installing the Killer Whale Premium

Deepcool provides everything needed to mount the Killer Whale Premium up to your system. The Killer Whale Premium supports Intel LGA1366/1155/1156/775 and AMD AM3/AM2/AM2+/940/939/754 sockets. One thing that stands out is that there is no backing plate for Intel LGA1366/1155/1156 sockets. This could be an issue for some as the Killer Whale Premium weighs 1.225kg.

I will be installing the Killer Whale Premium on our Intel Core i7-930 test system. To start you have to put the backing nuts on. There are washers with sticky tape that hold them to the board to aid in the install process.

On the other side the cross bars are installed.

Next the thermal paste and cooler are installed. I had to remove the ram from the board to reach the thumbscrews. The screws are large enough to tighten the cooler without the need of tools.

The Killer Whale Premium cleared all the motherboard components nicely.

The RAM clearance is very nice as well. Now depending on how the RAM slots are oriented to the socket on your board you may have to turn the cooler for RAM with tall heat spreaders to work. On Intel sockets this won’t be hard to do as the mounting pattern is square. AMD crowd, you will have to pay attention to the mounting pattern.

With the fan installed onto the Killer Whale Premium it’s all ready to go back into the case.

Here we have the Killer Whale Premium with system running. The LED effect is not extremely bright, but gives a nice effect.

Legit Reviews Intel Core i7-930 Test System

System specs

Here are the parts that make up the Legit Reviews Core i7-930 test system:

To test the coolers the system will be left idle at the desktop for 30 minutes and the temperature will be recorded. Then it will run at full load with Prime95 Blended test for 30 minutes and the temperature will be recorded. There will be 3 levels tested with our Core i7-930 clocked at a stock 2.8 GHz, a mild OC of 3.5 GHz and a high OC of 4.0 GHz. All temps will be recorded with CoreTemp, and the temp reading from all 4 cores will be averaged. The thermal paste used on all coolers will be Gelid GC Extreme.

CPU Temperature Testing Results

With the system running at the stock settings the Killer Whale Premium is keeping our Intel Core i7-930 at 56.25*C, 2 degrees behind the first place Prolimatech Super Mega. The Killer Whale Premium is also performing with the Noctua NH-C14 with the Low Noise (LNA) adaptor, but is significantly louder than the Noctua.

Turning the heat up a bit with a mild overclock the system now running at 3.5GHz the Killer Whale Premium is still doing ok. Cooling the Intel Core i7-930 to 63.25*C, 3 degrees behind the Super Mega. The gap to the NH-C14 has widened as well. This time the Killer Whale Premium is 1.75 degrees behind the NH-C14 with the LNA adaptor.

Pushing the system to 4.0GHz the Killer Whale Premium now cooling the Intel Core i7-930 to 76.25*C, 6.75 degrees behind the Super Mega and 3.25 degrees cooler than the stock Intel heatsink running at stock settings.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion of the Killer Whale Premium

This is the first cooler from Deepcool I have personally used. The build quality is good. The cooler is solidly built and was easy to install. The directions are simple and easy to follow. Over all the Killer Whale Premium is a nice cooler.

Overall the Killer Whale Premium did well in the testing. At the stock system settings it was on par cooling wise with the Noctua NH-C14 with the low noise adaptor. As the testing went on the gap grew slightly, but still close to the NH-C14. Only when the system was pushed to 4Ghz did the roles reverse and the Killer Whale Premium pulled ahead of the Noctua NH-C14.

Even though the Killer Whale Premium has a non standard fan the mount for it will accept any standard 120mm fan. This is nice for a couple of reasons. First is if you have a shallow depth case for an HTPC you can cut 23mm off the overall height by switching the stock 48mm thick fan for an aftermarket 25mm thick fan. Now the stock fan for the Killer Whale Premium is not the quietest fan at full speed, but for a fan pushing 78CFM 32dBA isn’t bad. At 32dBA you won’t be turning up the TV but you will hear it if the case is sitting on the top of the desk.

The biggest issue I had with the Killer Whale Premium is there is no backing plate for the Intel LGA mounting system. The Killer Whale Premium has the weight to go with its name. Coming in at 1.225kg the cooler really should have a backing plate for socket and motherboard support. Intel says that the cooler should not exceed 450g, so running a cooler that is almost 3x that weight limit without a backing plate could cause some issues. If your system lays flat like an HTPC or doesn’t travel then this may not be an issue.

Now if the 1.225kg weight is a deal breaker for you there is the original version of the cooler called the Killer Whale that weighs in at a scant 900g, 325g lighter than the Killer Whale Premium.

The other drawback is that I couldn’t find the cooler at any US based e-tailer. Deepcool is working on getting in the US, but our readers across the pond can check their local haunts to find it or they can look at Deepcool's website for a list of places that carry their products.

Legit Bottom Line: The Killer Whale Premium from Deepcool is nicely built and being all copper looks great. However it is as heavy as its name suggest and the lack of a backing plate makes me leery of suggesting it for use in systems that move around a lot.